Joni Delgaco of the Philippines competes in the women’s single sculls repechage rowing competition during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Varese-sur-Marne Nautical Centre in Varese-sur-Marne on July 28, 2024. (Photo: Bertrand Guay/AFP)
Sam Catton has already started thinking about what lies ahead before he steps into the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Despite being knocked out of the women’s individual foil competition at the imposing Grand Palais in Paris on Sunday, Catanton has a big and challenging plan in place for her next career step.
“To get there (2028 Los Angeles Olympics) I have to participate in as many international tournaments as possible to get the necessary points,” Catanton said.
The first Philippine female fencer to represent the country in 32 years, defeated Brazil’s Mariana Pistoia 15-13 in her first match to advance to the round of 32, where she will face four-time Olympian and top seed Arianna Errigo of Italy.
Meanwhile, rower Joni Delgaco made PH history by entering the quarterfinals of the women’s single sculls through the backdoor.
Delgaco has now moved into the world’s top 24 by winning Repechage 1. She clocked seven minutes and 55 seconds over the 2,000m at France’s National Olympic Nautical Stadium, leaving her clearly ahead of the four other competitors on the line.
Vietnamese Pham Thi Huy finished second in 8:00.97 and joins Delgaco in the quarterfinals at 3:30 pm (Manila time) on Tuesday. Delgaco, the first Filipina woman to qualify for the Games’ sailing event, won the repechage just 24 hours after missing out on a chance in the heats.
Despite Catanatan’s exit, it was a good weekend for the PH campaign in Paris, as gymnastics veteran Carlos Yulo made it to the finals of his key events, floor exercise and vault, on Saturday, as well as winning the men’s all-around competition.
The noticeably smaller Catantan made Arrigo work hard throughout the contest, twice trailing by four points to take the lead before the Italian struck twice to secure a narrow 15-12 win and move into the 16-player standings.
The Difficult Passage
Irrespective of the result, swinging his sword on the biggest stage of the Games is certainly an achievement for Catanton, as he had to go through the rigorous Olympic Qualification Tournament (OQT) for Asia.
“I would rather get to Los Angeles by compiling ranking points than going through the same process again,” Catantan said. The 22-year-old from Frisco, Quezon City and a 2021 Southeast Asian Games (SEA) gold medalist hardly had the chance to play in the various tournaments where points are earned before the OQT.
He suffered a horrific ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury in the semi-finals of the Cambodia SEA Games last year, forcing Catantan to settle for a silver medal. He injured his left knee in the final 24 seconds of the first round against Brazilian player Pistoia, who was leading 7-4. But Catantan did not lose hope and fought back for a point, then regained control with a stretch lunge to go up 14-13 and then sealed Pistoia’s victory with another powerful strike.
With 20 seconds remaining in the second round of the Arigo match, Catantan felt another sharp sting on the same knee.
With nearly 10 months out of action, Katantan missed most of the tournaments that offered Olympic qualification points, causing her ranking to drop significantly. The top-ranked fencer on each continent automatically clinched an Olympic berth.
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“That’s the route I would love to take to get to Los Angeles,” Catton said.
